


Crouch, Hold, Engage

by oriolegirl



Category: Sports Night
Genre: M/M, Rugby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2008-03-20
Updated: 2008-03-20
Packaged: 2017-10-02 18:00:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oriolegirl/pseuds/oriolegirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Casey may or may not have played rugby in college, but he does know something about it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Crouch, Hold, Engage

_Casey: You know what, here's something I don't understand about rugby.  
Dan: Oh, you do understand something about rugby?  
Casey: I played rugby all right? Now I want to ask you a question..  
Dan: Wait, wait... when have you played rugby?  
Casey: When I was in college. I played.... co-ed rugby.  
Dan: You did not play rugby.  
Casey: I did play rugby. Now I want to ask you a question...._  
\- "Pilot"

  


They were at the point of the rundown meeting in which neither of them were paying attention to the agenda. Dan was staring into space with a little grin on his face. Casey was determinedly not thinking about what Dan's grin meant. There were some things he just really didn't want to know.

Casey snapped back to awareness when he heard Dana say the words "Rugby World Cup".

"CSC has just acquired the rights to show some of the matches on tape delay. Does anyone know anything about rugby?"

Jeremy's hand shot into the air but Dana cut him off before he could speak. "Does anyone besides Jeremy know anything about rugby?"

"I played rugby in college," Casey said.

Dan leaned forward. "You did not play rugby in college."

Casey forced himself to not roll his eyes. "How many times are we going to have this discussion?"

Tapping the table for emphasis, Dan said, "Rugby is a violent sport. You're too … pretty to have played rugby."

"Too pretty?" That was a new one. "Jeremy, give me your laptop."

Jeremy slid it across the table. Casey opened a new browser, did a Google search -- Charlie had taught him well -- and clicked on the first fan site on the results list. Turning the laptop towards Dan, he said, "This is Dan Carter. He was voted best professional rugby player in 2005."

Dan stared. Then he shifted in his chair, cleared his throat, and closed the laptop. "Ok. Maybe not too pretty." He looked at Casey. "Do you have some games on tape I could borrow? I think I need to study this game closely. And in detail."

~*~

When Dan walked into their office on Monday, he handed back Casey's stack of DVDs. "How is it possible I did not know about this sport?"

Casey smirked. "Kind of puts the NFL to shame, doesn't it?"

"It does," Dan said, sitting down at his desk. "It really does."

"You know, Dan, Dartmouth does have a rugby team - and a pretty good one at that. Are you sure you never saw a match when you were in college?"

There was a moment of silence. "It's entirely possible, Casey, that I had other things on my mind."

Casey looked down at his desk. Sometimes it was easy to forget that the college years hadn't been the happiest of Dan's life.

"So, does the U.S. have a national rugby team?"

Casey looked up, grateful. "We do, indeed. The Eagles are the reigning Olympic champions in rugby."

Dan frowned. "I don't remember seeing rugby in the Olympics."

"It hasn't been an Olympic sport since 1924."

"1924, huh? And since then?"

Casey grimaced. "The Eagles have qualified for four of the five Rugby World Cup tournaments. But they've only managed to win two matches."

"So just another international sport in which the U.S. is lucky to get invited to play," Dan said, smirking a little.

"Pretty much."

"Not much chance of them winning anything this time, then."

Casey just nodded. This year the Eagles seemed to be incapable of winning anything. He was still surprised they'd managed to qualify for the Rugby World Cup.

"Who are we rooting for then?" Dan asked. "I mean, someone who actually has a chance of winning something."

Casey considered the possibilities. "Well, the New Zealand All Blacks are widely considered to be the best team in the world. But if you want to support an underdog, go with Argentina. They've been playing really good rugby for the last couple of years."

Dan learned forward, obviously sensing the opportunity to support a new cause. "Getting shafted by the Powers That Be, are they?"

"They really deserve a chance to play regularly against the Tier 1 nations, but the International Rugby Board doesn't seem inclined to do much to help them. A good showing at the World Cup might change their minds."

"Go, Argentina," Dan said, punching his fist in the air.

"Las Pumas," Casey said.

"Las Pumas," Dan repeated. "I'll have to get jersey. What do they look like?"

Casey winced. "Baby blue and white hoops."

Dan stared at him for a moment. "Well, unlike you, my friend, I'm cool enough to wear baby blue."

~*~

Dan was lying on the sofa, looking a little worse for wear, when Casey came back from lunch. "What's going on?"

"Did you hear, Case?" Dan asked, sitting up and grinning. "Argentina beat France in the bronze medal match! 34-10!"

Casey leaned against his desk, just a little stunned. A Tier 2 nation making it that far into the World Cup was a bit unprecedented. But actually winning? That was amazing. Then he grinned, too. "Didn't I tell you they were playing good rugby?"

"You did," Dan nodded. "You really did. But I still don't believe you played rugby in college."

Casey let his head fall forward and groaned. Not this again. "Why not?"

Dan cocked his head. "Maybe you're not too pretty, but I just don't think you've got the stamina to play for 80 minutes."

Casey looked up with a smile. "No stamina, huh?"

Dan licked his lips. "We should probably finish the script." He cleared his throat. "Before Jeremy comes to hunt us down."

"Sure, Danny. And maybe later," Casey said as he rounded his desk to sit down in front of his computer, "I can show you some of the tackling moves I learned."

Dan made a strangled noise and Casey grinned. Oh, he was looking forward to this.

**Author's Note:**

> For [](http://community.livejournal.com/sportsbackinsn/profile)[**sportsbackinsn**](http://community.livejournal.com/sportsbackinsn/), prompt: Rugby World Cup. Transcript snippet from [](http://community.livejournal.com/sntranscripts/profile)[**sntranscripts**](http://community.livejournal.com/sntranscripts/).  
> As always, much thanks to my beta [](http://silver-cyanne.livejournal.com/profile)[**silver_cyanne**](http://silver-cyanne.livejournal.com/); the ending is for her.


End file.
